COACH OF THE YEAR: JOHN SAVAGE

Coach John Savage is not one to panic. When his starting pitchers got into trouble, Savage demonstrated guru-like patience throughout the season, often walking out to the mound to give advice, but never taking his starting arms out too soon.

It is with the same durable confidence that Savage showed up to the ballpark for the first day of this season.

Savage’s first year at the helm was frustrating to say the least. The Bruins ended the year at 15-41, the team’s worst record in 60 years. The biggest story of the season was the school-record 19-game losing streak in the middle of the season.

Getting ready to start his second year, the coach didn’t even blink.

“Well, we knew that we had a lot of work to do when we first got the job,” Savage said. “We knew that it was going to take some time to get the team that we wanted on the field, day in, day out.”

What no one outside of the clubhouse predicted was how quick the turnaround was going to be. Only a year after struggling at the bottom of the Pac-10, the Bruins found themselves among the elite teams in the conference, finishing third behind Oregon State and Arizona State.

“This year was pretty amazing,” junior starter Dave Huff said. “We went out not expecting anything. (Savage is) one of those guys – he expected everything.”

What Savage expected came true. UCLA broke into the top 25 , owning the No. 22 spot for a week, and earned a bid to regionals at the end of the season.

Despite playing one of the toughest schedules in the country, UCLA finished the regular season at 32-23.

“I think a lot of people probably would have thought I was crazy in terms of, ‘Hey, you just won 15 games (last season), and you have the toughest schedule, how’re you gonna do it?’” Savage said.

The resuscitation of the program is due in large part to offseason moves by Savage and his assistants. The coach, who is known throughout college baseball as a pitching expert, brought in two talented junior transfers to fill out the starting rotation. Right hander Tyson Brummett and left hander Huff, who followed Savage from UC Irvine, joined redshirt junior staff ace Hector Ambriz to create a competitive trio.

“When the Pac-10 conference came out and we were predicted eighth, we just kinda smirked at that a little bit,” Savage said. “We knew we were gonna be better.”

Pretty soon everyone else knew it too. UCLA’s sweep at North Carolina State in March put it on the map as a team that was going places.

Helping the Bruins get there, in the field and at the plate, was a strong freshman class. Third baseman Jermaine Curtis and shortstop Brandon Crawford added a huge burst at the plate and switched off as the leadoff and No. 2 hitter down the stretch. The freshmen were at the top of the stat sheet, with Curtis leading all starters in averages at .336 and Crawford in third at .318.

As big as recruiting was for the team’s success, Ambriz commented that Savage’s approach stayed consistent.

“It’s been the same,” Ambriz said. “You don’t change with wins and losses.”

That approach involved consistent hard work from all around the dugout.

“Coach always made us work hard,” Ambriz said. “6:30 a.m. weights, conditioning. Position players run. It starts with the offseason and carries into the season.”

It certainly carried into this past season, and led to a lot of success at Jackie Robinson Stadium. By keeping faith and staying with his program, Savage turned the streak around to UCLA’s favor.

“Our longest losing streak was three games, and that was against Fullerton. That was one weekend. I don’t think we ever lost three again in a row,” he said.